Count these among famous first words: “What hath God wrought?” Samuel F. B. Morse sent this message over the world’s first commercial telegraph line on May 24, 1844. “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.” This message of Aug. 16, 1858, was the first official communication sent over a […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (8/29/10)This morning we read Nehemiah 8, which is the passage that was the basis for Steve Lawson’s sermon “Bring the Book!” at the Shepherds’ Conference a few years ago. It is a really outstanding sermon. You may download it here. (It really is worth the hour or so it will take you to listen to […]
Read More Bring the Book!This is the tenth of a series of reflections of gratitude on 20 years of ministry at GBC. To say that the Scriptures are adequate is something like saying that a bazooka is adequate to kill a mosquito or that a Lamborghini is adequate to defeat a bicycle in a ten-mile race. When we say […]
Read More Reflections on Twenty Years of Ministry: the Adequate WordA preacher went to visit a farmer and during the course of that visit asked him, “If you had $200 would you give $100 to the Lord?” “I would, preacher.” “If you had two cows, would you give one to the Lord?” “Yes, I believe I would.” “If you had two pigs, would you give […]
Read More Principles of givingMay I ask a straight-forward question? Why do you do what you do for Christ? That is, what is the motive for your actions? What drives you and compels you? Specifically, when you think about how you serve God, can you also determine why you serve God? Some serve God from a sense of “holy […]
Read More Why do you serve Christ?A writer for Leadership Journal recounted the following story: Deep-sea divers recently recovered a leather case containing 40 small vials of perfume oil from the wreck of the Titanic. The little bottles, which probably would have been sold in New York as the ingredients for cologne, belonged to a businessman from Manchester, England. When they […]
Read More A sweet aromaThat we live in different times than the generation(s) that preceded us seems self-evident. But the case of a certain John Fisher and Lizzie Clark, two strangers on a train near Atlantic City near the beginning of the 20th century reveals just how much change has taken place. This, according to the New York Times, […]
Read More He will not changeA couple decades ago, Yogi Berra had opportunity to attend a White House dinner. After the event he was asked about the experience, and he replied: “It was hard to have a conversation, there were so many people talking.” Indeed. Yet he was right — for where there is an abundance of words, there is […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (8/8/10)“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13; NASB) It was a simple task. Two bushes. One set of hedge clippers. One hour. No problem. I dove into the job with vigor. I really do enjoy trimming bushes and trees — I enjoy seeing the speedy […]
Read More Be on the alertIn Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul explains one of the foundational principles for sanctification in the Christian life: the believer is to put off (take off, stop) any activity that speaks of the ungodly life of unbelievers and the old, unredeemed man, and he is to put on (begin and continue) the activities of that reflect the […]
Read More Put off and put onThis morning we begin reading the book of 1 Chronicles. Often this book is pointed to as one of the more difficult to read because of its lengthy genealogies; moreover, many fail to see the relevance of both books of Chronicles. Even while reading these lengthy lists of names, we do well to remember that […]
Read More Reading ChroniclesIt is an unfortunate reality that it is possible to be regular in reading the Scriptures and being exposed to Biblical teaching and preaching and yet remain unchanged. The hymn writer said that we are “prone to wander…prone to leave the God I love?” Why is that so? A number of possibilities exist: We substitute […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (6/13/10)The “fish story” is the poster-child for exaggeration. The longer the fish is dead, the bigger it grows. But fishermen are not the only ones who are prone to stretching the boundaries of a story. A 25-pound weight loss creeps up to 30, then 35 or more. Salaries often “grow” even when there haven’t been […]
Read More God, please don’t give me too muchAll written from during his first Roman imprisonment, Paul’s four letters of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon all carry similar themes and messages. Each of them stresses in some manner the work of Christ and the unity of the church. Yet perhaps no two letters are more similar than Ephesians and Colossians; so reading Colossians […]
Read More Reading ColossiansSamuel’s books are important for the nation of Israel for they provide not only the monarchy for the nation of Israel, but also include the Davidic Covenant (God’s promise that the Messiah would come from the line of David). Yet in the midst of these books there is much about the reality of sin and […]
Read More Reading Samuel
